The Greaser & The Farmers Daughter
by XExplicitXAndXYouXLoveXIt
Summary: AU, CHANGES MADE, SET POST CHURCH FIRE JOHNNYOC Katherine Miller is a 17 year old who doesn't count herself among either the Socs or the Greasers. She was the childhood friend of Pony Curtis and his two brothers but they grew apart as they advanced in school. When Pony and Johnny are admitted to the hospital, and their paths cross again a friendship restarts, as well as a romance.
1. Chapter 1

The night they bought in Johnny Cade and Pony Curtis was a pretty dull one to start off with for Katherine Miller, a 17 year old who volunteered at the hospital where her mother worked at to get a first hand look at what she'd be doing as an RN when she was older.

She'd just finished helping some of the nurses with passing out food, and she was just settling back into her chair in the nurses station, legs up, notebook and school book in hand, studying for a final she'd take the next day. That was until the doors opened and the two gurneys rushed past, with the group of frantic teenage boys right on it's heels.

Ida, a cleaning lady walked past and Katherine tugged at the woman's crisp white scrubs as she asked quietly, "Those two gurneys.. Wasn't an accident or somethin, right?"

"No, child, those boys were the ones who saved them kids in the next town over from that burnin church. Ain't you been hearin the news?"

"Not really." Katherine admitted sheepishly as she asked, "What were their names?"

"I believe it was Pony Curtis and Johnny Cade, the news man said? They were both right round your age, girl."

Katherine froze as it hit her. She bit her lip for a moment, quietly as she raked her hand through her hair and thought back to the recent events. She knew enough to know that whatever happened at that lot the night Bob Sheldon got stabbed was probably just a cut and dried case of self defense.

She was after all, a nonpartial 3rd party. And until that night at the lot, when one kid stabbed another, hell, she hadn't even been aware of the social classing thing, the labels.

She had friends that were on both sides of the fence and until that, she'd really never stopped and thought about anything above and beyond her usual routine which consisted of school, her volunteer nights at the hospital with her mama, the rodeos she rode in occasionally on the weekends, or chores on the farm her father split evenly between herself and her 3 older brothers.

But after that night at the lot, she'd thought about it a lot and she'd come to the general conclusion that people were people, if you cut them, they all bled the same, did they not? Whether Soc or Grease, black or white, or even purple, hell.

A person was a person. And everyone deserved a fair shake.

Of course it went without saying that some of the Greasers she knew had used up their alloted amount of fair shakes, really, but then there were the few like Darry and Soda Curtis, their baby brother Pony who just seemed to have the odds stacked solely against 'em from the time the ywere born.

She sighed as she stood and pocketed some change, called out to her mother, who was over the nursing staff tonight, filling in for the normal head nurse, "Going for a soda, Mama."

Her mom ducked out and said "Good. While you're down there, Kate, stop and see about the Curtis boys. Like it ain't bad enough those three lost their mama and daddy a few years ago."

Biting her lower lip, she nodded solemnly, and made her way down the hallway towards the vending machines in the lobby. She'd just gotten her soda when she heard a voice from behind her.

"Smokes machine is jammed."

"My mama might give ya one." Katherine said calmly as she looked up, found herself looking at Dallas Winston.

"Somehow, girl, I doubt it." Dallas said as Katherine shrugged and sipping her soda asked, "What has the doctor told yall?"

"Why do you care?"

"Because, damn it, Pony Curtis is sort an old friend of mine.. Ain't really talked to him much since high school." Katherine trailed off, quieting as she realized that somehow, subconsciously, despite all her better efforts, despite all her claims to being a nonpartial 3rd party, she really was no better than the angry mob of idiots that were currently demanding the two boys who might die be sent to prison if they lived.

Had she not stopped talking to Pony for some reason or another? He'd been a close childhood friend of hers and when they hit high school, it was almost like for some unexplicable reason, they'd cut ties.

Now it bugged her, because she didn't know why, and she didn't much like it, either.

"Ya mean before ya turned into a snotty little princess, right?" Dallas asked, naturally assuming the worst about the 17 year old girl in front of him. He'd seen her around a few times, didn't recall her running with either the Soc's or the Greasers, so he wasn't quite sure what to make of her.

And common sense told him that like most girls, if she was after a Greaser, it wasn't because she really loved him, it was because she wanted to live dangerously.

Katherine glared at him, rolled her eyes and said "Ya know, Winston.. I never pegged you for a judgemental prick."

She gave the cigarette machine a swift kick and the pack of Luckys tumbled out. She shoved them at him and continued down the hallway.

"Damn broads." Dallas said as he pocketed the cigarettes and walked out into the parking lot to smoke.

As she turned a corner, she steeled herself. She kept reminding herself that if she handled Dallas, she could handle anything else the gang might throw at her. She also kept reminding herself that she needed to rectify this recent error in judgement on her part that'd come to light just moments ago.

She didn't like knowing that she'd actually lost a damn good friend, just because they 'drifted apart'.

She spotted Darry first and tapped him on the shoulder quietly, stood waiting.

Darry turned around and for a moment, he didn't recognize the girl standing in front of him, but when he did, he gave a small smile as he asked, "So you heard."

"Mhmm and Mama told me to tell y'all, if any of you need anything, she's gonna be at the nurses station until midnight. And I wanted to tell y'all I'm real sorry.. About everything. I know it's a stupid thing to say and ya probably all sick of hearin it.. But it's the truth. I've got no other words."

Darry nodded and then Soda said quietly, "Thanks. It's Kate, right?"

"Yeah. Ya'll used to come out and ride horses with my daddy." Katherine said as she shifted her feet around on the linoleum floor, not sure what else to say really. But finally, she asked, "Are they lettin y'all in to see 'im yet?" as she blew a bubble with her gum.

The guy in the Mickey Mouse muscle shirt shook his head and said "Nobody's tellin us a damn thing either."

"Huh? What the hell, are you serious?" Katherine asked as she said calmly, "I'll be right back. I'm gonna go tell Mama what's going on. Maybe she can get somebody to let ya in. It's the least I can do."

"Do you work here?" Soda asked, thinking he distinctly remembered her being maybe a year younger than he was. So she'd be a junior in high school this year, and had he stayed he'd have been a Senior.

"Me, nope.. But I wanna be a nurse when I'm older." Katherine said as she gave them all a slightly curt parting nod and then set off to find her mother.

When her mother heard about the doctors, the way they were treating the guys all in waiting, she grumbled and set off to find the doctor over their cases, intent on giving the man a piece of her mind.

And about 10 minutes later, Katherine found herself standing in the hallway again, with the Greasers who filled it, outside of Pony and Johnny's room. " Mama wanted to come down here personally, tell ya'll that you can go in, just not all at once, but she's kinda still chewing out the nurses who told y'all ya couldn't go in to see 'em, and I'm not even gonna get started on what she told Dr. Taggert about his not tellin y'all anything. So he'll probably be down in a few minutes. Guys a dick, just warning you."

She turned on her heels and walked off, Two Bit asking, "Who's the kid, Darry?"

"Yeah. And why's this matter to her anyway, she looks like one of those damn Soc's." Steve asked as Dally spoke up and said "She's mouthy."

"She's Farmer Miller's kid. My parents had a horse out on their ranch, we used to go and ride. She used to be best friends with Pony."

Soda nodded and then said "I kinda thought they all moved."

"No, we had to sell the horse, remember? When Mom and Dad died?" Darry explained as the group lapsed back into silence, waiting on the doctor to come out, which he did, exactly 10 minutes later, though he didn't look the least bit happy about doing it.

They'd all been in to see Pony and Johnny, so Katherine figured she'd sneak in and at least set things right between herself and Pony. She didn't want an old friend dying or going on living thinking she didn't like him or want him to be a friend. So she sat down in the chair and said quietly, "Hey Pony? If you're listening, man.. I'm real sorry we stopped talkin after 8th grade.. I've been thinkin and I think I know why.. I just didn't want to say somethin to upset you guys after you all lost your mama and daddy. And then y'all had to sell the horse, quit coming out to ride. And then high school came and we got so damn busy.. It's not a good excuse, I know.. But if you live, you stubborn ass, I really wanna be your friend again. We used to have fun remember? We went down to the creek that one night and watched the stars with your brothers and my brothers, and we thought we saw that comet?"

Sighing, she stood and stretched, was about to walk out, when a movement in the next bed caught her attention.

She sat down in the chair next to Johnny Cade's bed and said quietly, " I never really got to talk to ya much, Cade.. Which is a shame, really.. You seemed like a sweet guy. Little shy, but hey, nobody's perfect. "

She took a few deep breaths and then said in an even quieter tone, " All jokin aside... I kinda had a crush on ya when we were in English together in 10th grade. I never told ya because every time I tried, I kinda got nervous and ran off."

She stood and smoothed her hands down the skirt she wore, walked out of the room quietly, just glad she'd said what she set out to say, to both her former childhood friend and the boy she had a lingering crush on, but she'd always been too damn afraid to say something about it.

What she didn't realize, of course, was that both males in the small dark hospital room were awake.

As she walked down the hallway, she made a pact with herself. She'd at least try and go in, visit them both while she was there volunteering. It couldn't hurt, she figured, and she honestly did want to set things right with her former younger friend Ponyboy. She still didn't understand how their friendship just slipped away, the second they both hit high school.

And she was disgusted with herself for letting it happen.


	2. Chapter 2

{**A/N: Thanks to my anon reviewer, I'm so glad you like this.A million hugs and kisses to you, dear!  
**

**As for the chapter that follows. I struggled with it, because I was torn about actually posting it or not because I didn't want to give anyone the wrong impression about Katherine or her family, or anything. I tried to keep it as balanced and as in character on all accounts as I could. It seems like Dally would do and say those things, if you really think about it. He's not a very trusting person to the outside world. He has his gang and Johnny, who he guards almost as if his life depended on it.**

**My original character's family all have reasons for disliking the Socials, those will come out here and there. But as much as they dislike the Socials, they're not exactly totally on the side of the Greasers, either. They're a non partial 3rd party, who are seeing all the events of the book, in 1965 as they happen. This is just their part in it. It just so happens that Katherine will wind up befriending the greasers, eventually (I'm also going slow with that) and dating Johnny (another thing I want to go slow with. I'm not going to just rush them down the aisle. There's things they have to learn from and about one another, obstacles to overcome.)**

**The only really big liberties I'm taking are the connections and small bits that connect everyone to each other. If you haven't caught on, I've made Bob Sheldon's father part owner of an oil rigging company. I did this, because I don't actually recall much, if anything, being mentioned in The Outsiders, about his father's occupation, and it explains how the family has the money and material posessions they have. I've also given Bob an older brother. I'm trying to flesh out this guy through the story too, if you're curious. So everyone gets a full picture of just how common all this was back then. I mean minus the stabbing and such. **

**If you haven't noticed, everyone's slightly connected somehow, to keep it as realistic as I can, so it's not a completely unbelievable piece of garbage. So yes, Tony (my oc's brother and a minor oc character) and Darry, Bob's yet unnamed older brother were all connected via football. That's a smallish part of the story that may or may not make itself known in the future. Not sure just yet. I'm trying to make this as thourough and well thought out as I can, I apologize if it's the worst shit you've ever read in your life, I really do.**

**SPOILER ALERT: I do not have the heart to kill Johnny or Dallas, so this story, when the rumble and Johnny's death happens, there will be a few twists and turns, deviating from that. Not saying that there won't be consequence for Johnny's having taken a life, or anything Dallas might do by the end, but eventually, things will reach a hopefully satisfactorily happy ending.**

**Again, thanks for the support, my anon reviewer. To anyone else who might read this, I really am doing my best to write an alternate ending that's not like the other and probably better ones. If it's boring and you fall asleep I'm sorry. But hey, the idea's not in my head anymore, right?**

**Will it make you happy if I tell you there will be a little johnny fluff in the next chapter? Nothing major, but there will be a little bit, I promise, guys. ;p**

**- Gina**

* * *

Even the few farm chores she had to do when she got home that night didn't distract her from everything that'd been going on lately. Her mind seemed like it went a thousand directions at once, and a million miles a minute as she tried to convince herself that Pony and his friend Johnny were going to be okay, this was all going to be okay. She worried of course, because Pony was an old friend, and she knew his living situation. The mess the two of them had gotten themselves into before the fire that'd happened earlier today wasn't looking good for either of them.

The rich folks in town, they were demanding justice, while the people on the Curtis' side of town were demanding back that had the Soc's not been drinking that night, had they not went looking for a fight, they clearly wouldn't have gotten it. There was talk all over town about a rumble happening by the weekend and the air was so tense that it felt like you couldn't breathe.

Or maybe it was just all in Katherine's head, now that she was actually aware of the world she lived in, the problems going on around her. The fact that she'd even been so oblivious to it in the first place baffled her now, and she reluctantly had to admit that when she and Pony hit high school, they'd probably stopped talking because she lived on the outskirts of town in the rural part and he lived in the worst part of town where the crime was high and people's opinions of the people living in that side of town were low.

Biting her lower lip, she stopped running the grooming brush over her quarter horse's mane, sitting down on a stool in the horses stall as she said quietly, "I just dunno, Thunder.. Do you reckon maybe because I live out here, I kinda isolate myself from anything that goes on in town?" All she got for an answer was a neigh. She sighed at herself, pinching up her face as she muttered, " Ain't like anybody's makin me pick a side." in defense of herself. So she'd went from being blissfully oblivious of the social class thing, to arguing with herself in the stall of her daddy's barn on a school night. It'd been one hell of a day, that's pretty much all she knew at this moment with any absolute certainty.

"Wonder if my brother's gonna go to the Dingo and play a few games of 8 ball. That might take my mind off this crap." she muttered as she stood, stretched, closed the gate to the horse's stall, giving it a kiss on it's nose, and feeding it a sugar cube treat before walking into the house, finding her brother in the family room, the radio turned to some radio show that he liked, George Jones playing White Lightning in the quiet of the room.

"Tony? You gonna go down to the Dingo?"

"I thought about it, yeah." her older brother said as he patted the spot on the couch next to him and asked, "What's wrong with you tonight?"

"Don't know.. I guess seein Pony Curtis and Johnny Cade comin in on those gurneys earlier kinda made me stop and think about things." Katherine said quietly as she bit her nails and then said "I talked to 'em when they got 'em in a room."

"That's good. Some of the boys down at the rig were sayin that the two of 'em weren't in good shape. Damn shame is what it is. The other two guys were drinking the night all this got started, but naturally, those rich bastards are gonna get every cop and lawyer in this state after the other two kids. And the Curtis boys, they already lost almost everything, hell. Not like any of 'em need this shit."

Katherine nodded, now really feeling like an idiot. Even her brother was aware of the Soc & Greaser thing, the tension between the two groups. So why then, hadn't she?

"C'mon, Kate. I'll take ya to play pool." Tony said as he stood, pulled his baby sister off the couch and grabbed the keys to the ancient Ford pickup sitting in their driveway.

They pulled into the Dingo, found it crowded. But the atmosphere in the popular diner slash bar slash pool hall didn't feel the same tonight. There wasn't at least 15 different drunken arguments on a pool game, instead, the place was quiet, and the second Tony and Katherine walked in, wearing the clothes they wore to do farm chores and ride horses in, gazes shifted to them as if they'd committed some kind of sin by even coming in. But when it was established that they weren't Socs, the talk started up, quietly, and the few that'd been glaring holes through Katherine and her brother went back to nursing their beers and talking amongst themselves.

Grabbing a poolstick, Katherine chalked the tip while her brother slid coins into the coin slots on the front of the table, and called out for a beer. "Tony, maybe that ain't a real bright idea?" Katherine muttered, biting her lip as her brother shrugged and said " I ain't gonna have but the one beer." as he handed her his poolstick to hold, and walked to the counter.

The calm and chilly voice of Dallas Winston spoke up from behind her as he said quietly, "Whatever shit you got in mind for Johnnycakes or Ponyboy, it ends. Got it. Not gonna have some damn broad sniffing around, getting the two of 'em into worse trouble than they're already in when they make it outta the hospital."

She grumbled, rolled her eyes as she clenched her fist around the poolstick, mentally reminding herself that her mama always told her that when a woman hits a man, she's just put herself in a mans shoes, and if he hits back, she damn well deserves it. But god did she just want to swing the poolstick right at Dallas's arrogant oversized head at the moment.

"Dallas?"

"Yeah, girl?"

" Go sit on it and spin." Katherine said as she turned to face him, smirked as she added, "And I don't have some hidden motive. I just want 'em to both know they got friends. That everybody in this freaking crap hole of a town isn't lookin to kill 'em or lock 'em up." while studying him, annoyed. He growled then said "Ain't what Pony told me ya said to Johnnycakes."

"So I told him I had a crush on him, Dallas. What are you, his daddy?"

"Might as well be." Dallas argued back as he studied the girl. He had to admit, she was a bit on the spunky side, he liked that. The only problem with that was that he wasn't about to let his best friend Johnny become the target for some bored and prissy little Soc girl. "Why tell 'im? If ya not planning on actin on it." Dallas asked, shotgunning the long neck bottle in his hands.

"She told him, Winston, you jackass, because she heard our ma talkin about what Dr. Taggert told Darry and Soda about his condition. She didn't want anything goin unsaid. Now scram, Winston. Leave my kid sister alone, because she ain't after what you wanna think she is." Tony said as Katherine shot her 23 year old brother a dirty look and mouthed, "Damn it, Tony, I had that." and held out his poolstick to him.

Dallas glared at the guy who'd spoke up and then said casually, "I know you?"

"No, but if you keep messin with my sister, Winston, you're gonna. I don't want no trouble.. But Katherine's got just as much damn right to see Pony as any of you guys do. And if she told Johnny Cade how she felt? Good for her. Kid's had a rough life from what I been readin in the paper. My point, Winston, is we ain't the enemy here. I think we all know who the damn enemy is." Tony said as he eyed Dallas calmly, sipping from his own bottle.

"So she ain't a Soc?"

"You kiddin? My baby sister in with the lot of those broads, Winston? My ma would tan her hide. She ain't real fond of the way the Soc girls behave, and hell, if I caught Kate here actin like one of 'em, I'd probably take her out behind the barn, tan her hide by myself. And buddy?"

" I ain't ya buddy, man."

"We don't like the same guys, Winston, so in a sense, puts us on the same damn side, does it not?" Tony pointed out, smirk on his face as Katherine smirked to herself, trying to fade out of the conversation gracefully, still embarassed by Dallas confronting her like that, and beyond embarassed that apparently, her little secret was out. Johnny must have been awake when she talked to them. Or Pony had been, and he'd heard it all.

Dallas mulled it over and eventually admitted, "What do you got against 'em?"

"You think I like workin on the rig that Sheldon bastard owns? Man's a cheating shit and his sons, either of 'em ain't or weren't much better. 'Sides, I don't like the way Bob looks at my girl Lucille when we're out at the drive in. And I've seen 'im bullyin those two kids all the time. So, Winston, if ya tryin to accuse people of being no good pathetic wastes of good air like the Socs, at least make damn sure ya know what ya talkin about first." Tony said as Dallas stood, in his face, growling, just about to swing.

"Christ. Will the both of ya just shut it? He's right, Dallas. Neither me or my big brother are tryin to stick up for anything those rich and ignorant pricks always get away with doin. And as far as my tellin Johnny? I'm glad you wanna stick up for him. I mean I know what goes on in his house, heard all about it at school, every year, so knowin he does have you all, the gang lookin out for him makes me feel good for him. But when I told him that, Winston, I didn't think nobody was gonna make a Federal flippin case out of it. I told 'im because I don't want anything goin unsaid..." Katherine admitted, upsetting herself with the thought that went unspoken. She shoved between them and stormed out of the Dingo, flopping on the back of her brother's truck's tailgate.

Tony thrust the poolstick at Dallas and said " Always a pleasure, Winston." in a dry and sarcastic tone, rolling his eyes as he turned and walked out the door, into the parking lot. "Get in Kate. I'm gonna take ya home."

Katherine nodded and said "I don't get why he's got such a damn problem with me seein' 'em."

"It's not you, Kate. Right now, those boys have stuff comin at 'em from all sides. When it gets that rough, kinda hard to figure out who you trust. You do what you think is right, Kate, don't let him stop ya." Tony said as they drove out of town, heading back for the rural part of it, back to the safety and the sanctity of the only part of the world that apparently DID make sense to Katherine at 17.

She found herself wondering when everything became so damn complicated in life and how she'd missed it. And for a few moments, she found herself wishing she could rewind the last few years, go back to her childhood, before she and Pony stopped being friends for no apparent reason. She sighed as she leaned her head against the headrest behind her head.

"Growin up stinks." she assessed as Tony nodded and said "Yeah, Kate, it does. But the best damn thing our mama and daddy ever did for us, Kate, was move us out here.. Because you didn't have to really see what goes on all the time in town. Wish it wasn't tricklin in on ya now, sis."

"Tony, sooner or later, it was gonna happen. I just wish it hadn't happened to either of 'em. The worst things always happen to the decent people."

"That it does, Kate." Tony said as he stopped the truck and then said "If you wanna fix things with you and Pony, hell, if you wanna be friends with anybody, Kate. Don't let anything anybody says or does stop ya. Because it's not what anybody else thinks that matters. I learned that the hard way."

Kate nodded as she asked, "From when you played football, right?"

"Mhmm. Everybody loves ya until ya blow out ya knee and can't play anymore. Then you get nothin. Wish I hadn't been such a self absorbed shit before it happened. Because when I found out who my real friends were, kid.. Everything got crystal clear, real fast." her brother mused as he sighed and then said " If you want, I'll take ya to see 'em tomorrow. Rig's closin early. Figure I can fix a few errors in my own life, starting with my old buddy Darry."

Kate nodded and then said "Can I have a sip of that beer?"

"Don't tell mama. She'd beat both our asses black and blue." Tony said as he held out the beer and then started the truck again. The rest of the drive home was silent, Katherine mostly mulling over what she was going to say or do now that the whole truth where both her former crush Johnny and her former childhood best friend Pony, was out.

And when she got home, tried to sleep, it got no better. Because she dreaded hearing the rest of the gang's reaction, having to face Johnny knowing she'd just lain it all out there like that. It wasn't something she did a lot, but when she'd overheard her mama and Dr. Taggert whispering about just how bad Johnny Cade's condition really was and how it'd take nothing short of a damn miracle to keep him alive even the rest of the week, not to mention alive and well, on his way to recovery, well.

She had to do something, right?

Her daddy always told her that the worst thing you could actually do, was leave something unsaid or undone. Life was too short. But dealing with boys, horomones, crushes, hell, romance in general.. Katherine wasn't the best at it. Which is what baffled her about Dally's assumptions. Did she look like one of those disgustingly fake Soc girls?

The thought that she might, even a little, disgusted her.


	3. Chapter 3

{**A/N: Again, thanks for the support, my anon reviewer. To anyone else who might read this, I really am doing my best to write an alternate ending that's not like the other and probably better ones. If it's boring and you fall asleep I'm sorry. But hey, the idea's not in my head anymore, right?**

**This chapter is split into two parts, so it's not as confusing, because there's a lot going on at once.**

**Will it make you happy if I tell you there will be a little johnny fluff in this chapter? Nothing major, but there will be a little bit, I promise, guys. ;p**

**- Gina**

* * *

"She said what again, Johnnycakes?" Two Bit asked, listening to his friend, the kid he thought of as a kid brother as Johnny rasped out, "She told me she had a crush on me, but every time she thought about tellin me, she got scared and ran off. Girls, huh?"

"Well what's her name?" Two Bit asked, as Soda spoke up and said "Pony thinks it's Kate. The girl who came around in the lobby last night? Apparently her mama makes her volunteer here 3 afternoons a week, after school, because if what her mama was telling Darry this morning when she came in is right, Katherine wants to be a nurse."

"That kid.. The one Dally said was mouthy. We sure we want a Soc comin in here, seein 'em, Soda?" Steve insisted as Soda spoke up, rolling his eyes as he looked at Steve and said "The Millers ain't exactly rich enough to be Soc material, ya idiot. If she seems like she's got somethin up her sleeve, I'll tell her it ain't savvy that she keeps coming in. Until then, hell. At least somebody in their school cares, right?" Soda said as Darry spoke up and added, " As long as it isn't bothering the two of 'em, she can come in. Got it?" as he raked his hands through his hair, wincing when he saw Johnny's face contort in pain because of the painful procedures they were having to put the kid through, scraping away the burnt skin so it didn't infect his blood or anything and kill him.

The doctors said Johnny would be lucky to make it to Wednesday at this point. But whatever the girl said the night before seemed to make him determined to stay awake to actually see her instead of just hearing her talk.

"It ain't 3 yet?" Pony asked as he scowled, his face pinching a bit. Katherine promised to come back today, but whether she would or not, remained to be seen. Cherry had already been by, and left, bringing with her Pony's homework and everything else he'd missed in school, staying to talk to Dally, who she seemed to be getting real cozy with.

"No Pony, it ain't 3. And she might not come by, anyway. She mighta just been sayin that to make herself feel better, kid." Two Bit said quietly as Johnny tried moving a little, and immediately winced, coughing. The smoke damage was still heavy in his lungs. It was 2:30 by now, and while the two of them talked quietly amongst themselves about the night before, the brothers and the rest of the gang stepped out into the hallway, then into the parking lot to have a smoke.

* * *

Meanwhile, Katherine sat in the home ec classroom, impatiently tapping her pencil against her paper, pretending to give a damn about how much sugar went in the proper chocolate chip cookie recipe. A recipe, which if you asked Katherine, tasted like pure crap. It definitely wasn't the same kind of chocolate chip cookie her mother made. "Ahh, piss. This class is so damn useless and long." she muttered, her friend Lola, who sat across from her stifled a giggle before passing her a note.

Katherine took the note quickly, and scowled, rolling her eyes as she read what her friend wrote asking her if she were going to some stupid pep rally they were having right after school. She scanned over the note then wrote "Nope. Gonna go to the hospital and see Pony Curtis & Johnny Cade. You know I ain't real fond of pep rallies, Lola."

Lola took the note back and grimaced as she read the names. Lola, of course, was one of her Soc friends. And to be completely honest, Katherine didn't really count Lola among her really good friends. Most of those were kids who lived out in the outskirts like she did. She wrote something down and then handed Katherine the note back. Katherine grumbled but took the note, sliding it out of sight, reading what her friend wrote, "Why? Ain't they those no good Greasers that killed Bob Sheldon?"

This pretty much decided it for Katherine, if she'd been torn before, she wasn't anymore. She knew from adults who still had a functioning brain in their heads, that the whole thing was cut and dried self defense. One of the cops as much as told her mama that, when he'd come by the hospital to see the two kids.

"They're people too, Lola. 'Sides, way I heard it, Bob Sheldon and his friends were drinkin, went lookin for a fight. Really wouldn't be this much of a fuss if it'd been one Soc finally gettin sick of his shit after all this time, shankin him. That's what I think." she wrote back. When Lola got up and moved seats, Katherine rolled her eyes and shrugged. Her brother was right. Only in the most dire of circumstances did you find out who your real friends were, and as she'd just clearly seen, because she spoke her mind, Lola apparently wasn't one of her friends.

The second the bell rang to end class, Lola grabbed her books, her jean jacket and the plate of cookies she'd had to bake during class earlier, for a grade. She wasn't really fond of 'em herself, so she figured she'd take them to the hospital with her, let the guys have them.

She practically ran down the hall, and out the double doors at the end and smiled as she spotted her brother's run down Ford truck sitting in the parking lot, her brother standing against the side, waiting, still covered in oil from work, his arms crossed as he scowled at the football field across the parking lot.

Katherine never really understood why her brother just suddenly started to hate anything football related after he got hurt, she always just assumed really, that it was because he liked to play, and he knew he couldn't.

But when she got to the truck, she heard him mutter, "Always did hate that damn slave driving prick of a coach. Darry coulda had a damn good scholarship, so could I... Nope, we weren't good enough."

Katherine raised a brow but asked, "You're still taking me to the hospital.. Right?"

"I'm here, ain't I, kid?" Tony asked as he opened the door, let his sister crawl across the bench seat and onto the passenger side. He took the cookies, lifting the other plate she had on top, covering them and sniffed. "Bet Ms. Hargrove was real pissed when you made Mama's recipe instead of the one she showed ya."

"Mhmm. And she's not the only one I pissed off today."

"Really.."

"Mhmm. Let's just say that annoying little bird brain Lola won't be comin over anymore, and bugging ya when she does." Katherine said as Tony smiled then asked what'd happened. She spent the drive to the hospital telling him and his assessment as her brother was that it was probably for the best, if Lola couldn't accept her being friends with Greasers, who were people too, then she wasn't a really good friend to have.

"Sides, I didn't like it when she was around you. Tried to make you act like her, a giggling idiot." he added as he parked the truck and got out, letting Katherine get out also.

Darry nudged Soda and Two Bit, and nodded in the direction of the girl who'd apparently went in to talk to their brother and Johnnycakes the night before.

"She actually showed her face. I'll be damned." Two Bit said dryly as Soda gave him a look and then said "Hey Darry, ain't that Tony, the oldest brother? Didn't you play football with him?"

"I'll be damned. I figured Tony left Oklahoma."

Tony smirked as he caught sight of Darry and said casually, "Well I'll be damned, if it's not the best lineman in all of Oklahoma. Where the hell you been, man?"

"Workin, Tony.. What about you?" Darry asked as the guys stood around, eventually talking about football. Tony noticed Katherine slipping inside and with a chuckle called out, "The cookies, kid." as he held out the plate of cookies she'd bought with her. Two Bit, of course, with the nose of a bloodhound when it came to chocolate, grabbed one, taking a bite.

Then he grabbed another one and said quietly, "I might be able to like the kid." as he gave her a semi grin. Tony called out again as she went into the building, "Not too long, Kate. You have homework, and you get to muck the stalls tonight. Since I was nice enough to bring ya, and I did work my ass off today."

"Ughh, Tony, ya know muckin the stalls makes me wanna throw up."

"I know kid, but that's how things work. No gas money, I gotta get it outta you somehow, right?" Tony asked, grinning as Katherine gave him one of her trademark dirty looks, turned on her heels and walked into the hospital.

A brisk walk down the hallway found her standing in front of the door that lead into the room Pony and Johnny were in. Smoothing her hands down over the full skirt of the pale blue dress she was wearing with her denim jacket, she knocked. Hearing what sounded like a muffled male voice call out, "Come in." she stepped inside nervously.

"I, err, hi." she said quietly as she held out the plate of cookies to Pony and sat down in the chair between the two beds. For a few seconds, she looked at her hands, not sure what to say now, it was daylight and both of them were awake. Maybe this would be less awkward if she let one of them speak first.

Pony spoke up through a mouth full of cookie as he said " We heard ya last night. And it's okay, Kate. I didn't talk to you anymore either when we hit high school, so it's kind of my fault too." adding a few seconds later, "These are good."

"Wouldn't have been if I'd have followed that stupid recipe of Ms. Hargrove's." Katherine muttered and added quickly, "Thanks." as Pony said quietly, "Are ya gonna say somethin, Johnny?"

Johnny managed a smile and said quietly, "Hi. I think I remember ya.. Kinda."

Katherine smiled and then said "Yeah, we had English together. Like I said, last night." as she raked her hand through her hair, trying to think of something to say. Luckily, Pony spoke up and asked, "Do you still have Thunder?"

"Mhmm. I barrel race with her now though." as she turned to Johnny and asked, "Have you ever ridden a horse?"

Johnny shook his head and then said quietly, "Nah. Not much time." going silent for a moment. If the doctors were right, he might not ever get to ride a horse, either. Or kiss a girl, or anything most normal guys got to do eventually. The thought had him frowning, as the panic set in, momentarily. If he died, like the doctors thought he would, he'd never get to know this girl sitting in the room with him and Pony, he'd never get to ask her, why of all the guys in their school, she had a crush on him.

Katherine looked at Pony and then said "Ya know, Pony, Johnny might like one too." as she looked at Johnny who said quietly, "I probably can't have it."

"Maybe if I crushed it?" Katherine suggested, biting her lower lip as she took one of the cookies on the plate and started to crush it a little, wetting it with water so it was softer, even chewier than it had been to start with, almost like a liquid or something.

She set the plate she'd been using as a lid for the cookies in front of him and then said "There ya go." as she smiled. He nodded and eventually, they devised a way he could at least try the cookie. "That's good." he muttered quietly, his face going red as her face went red and she said quietly, "Thanks.. My mama.. She showed me when I was little." while biting her lower lip, looking at him for a few moments, quietly.

Pony spoke up, breaking the silence as he said casually, " Me and Johnny have been readin that book Gone With The Wind. Right, Johnny?" smiling to himself a little.

"Right." Johnny finally said as he smiled and added, "Pony's actually been readin it. I just been listening."

Katherine nodded and smiling said "I've read it before." as she asked, " Why on Earth, Pony, did you dye ya hair blonde?"

"I had to. We were in hidin." Pony pointed out as Katherine nodded and then said quietly, "Sorry. Just curious I guess."

Johnny lie there trying to figure out what to say to her, he wasn't really good at talking to girls, mostly he just clammed up. And apparently, Katherine clammed up when she was talking to boys. Although Dally said she wasn't always quiet, his word for her was feisty.

Finally, he said quietly, "What do ya listen to?"

"Elvis, George Jones, Roy Orbison and Jerry Lee Lewis.. I listen to Hank Williams too." Katherine said as she asked, "What about y'all?"

"The same. Just not so much George Jones, ya know?" Johnny said quietly as Pony admitted, "I listen to some of the songs he sings. Darry kinda likes him."

"Favorite Elvis song?" Katherine asked as she and Johnny both blurted out "Blue Suede Shoes" while Pony said "Suspicious Minds." Katherine laughed as she said "It's a good song. I just like to dance to Blue Suede Shoes."

"I can't dance. Just wish I could dance like Elvis." Johnny blurted, not really sure why he'd randomly said it. He was starting to see her as less of an intimidation and more like a girl he could be friends with, at least.

He dared not think beyond the next few days. Because the doctors didn't give him much of a fighting chance to live through this, and even if he did, he'd probably be paralyzed or something.

He moved around a little and Katherine stood, asked, "Pillow's slippin?"

"Yeah. It keeps moving out from underneath my head." Johnny admitted as she walked over and carefully, gently pulled it back into place. She winced at all the burns on his skin then said quietly, "It was real brave, what both of ya did." as she sat back down, noticed the deck of cards sitting on the end table. "Do you still play go fish?" Katherine asked Pony who nodded then added, "Kinda know how to play poker. Johnny's better at it than me."

Her eyes cut to Johnny who managed a shrug as she said "We'll see." as she flashed a slight grin, cut the deck of cards and started to deal. The three teens were well into the second game when the door to the room opened and the others and her brother piled in, watching them.

Dallas slunk in and said quietly, "Hey man.. That stuff at the Dingo last night." to Tony who shrugged and said casually, "It is what it is, man. I know all of ya probably feel like it's comin at ya from all sides right now. But I wasn't lying. My sister only wanted to get all that out, so nothin went unsaid."

Leaning in, Soda whispered, "Johnny looks a hell of a lot better than he did last night." to Darry who nodded and then said "Yeah, Dr. Taggert thinks Pony might get to go home by the end of the week. Maybe Johnny will .." trailing off. Nobody wanted to get their hopes up, but sitting in the room watching the two of them and Katherine, maybe they could hope a little.

Noticing how late it was getting, Tony said casually, "Stalls don't muck themselves, baby sister." as he stood, stretched. Katherine grimaced and Pony fell into laughter as Johnny asked, "What's that mean?"

"Means she's gotta shovel horse shit." Dallas blurted out as Katherine turned to him and then said calmly, "Thanks, Winston.. real sweet of ya to remind me."  
"Why?" Johnny asked, curious.

"Because, I didn't really have allowance to give Tony here gas and beer money for the ride here, so he said if I mucked stalls for him tonight, he'd bring me." Katherine said as she shrugged then said quietly, "But I'll come again tomorrow. I gotta come back, help Mama here. We'll play another game of cards, if you wanna?"

"Ya mean you'll lose to me again." Pony joked as she glared and muttered, "Still think ya cheated somehow." laughing as Johnny said quietly, "Nah. It's just too easy to tell when you're bluffin, Katherine." as he semi smiled at her. Maybe he could at least be friends with her, while he had a little time left, he reasoned with himself.

She wasn't like the other girls who went to school with him and Pony, and she wasn't like Dally's girlfriend Sylvia. And he felt comfortable enough around her to talk a little more than usual.

Katherine smiled and then said quietly, "Tomorrow, show me how to hide a bluff. Now I know how my brothers keep beatin me in poker." before leaning in, giving Pony a friendly hug, before doing the same to Johnny. The hug lingered a little, and he blushed, as did Katherine.

"I'll.. I'll see y'all tomorrow." Katherine said as she turned to Darry and jokingly said "And don't let Pony have all of those cookies, yeah? They're for both of 'em."

With that, she walked out, still largely shocked that her confession from the night before hadn't been the disaster she thought it might be. Maybe if nothing else, they could all be friends.


	4. Chapter 4

{**A/N: Again, thanks for the support, my anon reviewer. To anyone else who might read this, I really am doing my best to write an alternate ending that's not like the other and probably better ones. If it's boring and you fall asleep I'm sorry. But hey, the idea's not in my head anymore, right?**

**Warning.. The alternate ending to the book starts here with Johnny showing signs of movement in his legs. If this pisses anyone off, sorry. I just didn't honestly have the heart to kill him off, or Dallas, as I stated before. Nevermind that it's highly illogical that he lives, due to his injuries. So we're going to call this a miracle, okay, kiddos? No flames, please?**

**Sorry if the fluff was overload or anything wasn't character accurate in this chapter. I got the muse for this, and wanted to post it now, as opposed to waiting, but I am under the influence of heavy cold meds right now, plus I'm sort of in a fluffyish mood thanks to watching the movie for this again today, I got caught up in the feels and.. Yeah, so if this majorly sucks or it's too over the top, sorry. My feels got in the way. I mean I liked it, but if you didn't, sorry.**

**Will it make you happy if I tell you there will be a little more johnny fluff in this chapter? Nothing major, mostly stolen looks, accidental touches, tons of awkward blushing, but there will be a little bit, I promise, guys. ;p**

**- Gina**

* * *

"And that is exactly why you're an idiot, Lola." Katherine said calmly, the other girl, Lola, looking at her as she placed her hand on a slim set of hips and huffed indignantly, in front of the rest of her new friends, the Soc girls in their grade. The girls rolled their eyes and muttered, "She's an outsider anyway, she doesn't really fit in with anyone. Besides, her parents are poor farmers, they know nothing about this. So her opinion's not really a valid one."

"No, Annie, but in about five seconds, my fist is gonna be valid when it hits you in the face." Katherine snapped, glaring in anger as she spoke up again, "By the way, kinda glad I don't fit in with any of ya. Makes livin my life one hell of a lot easier. And my parents might be poor farmers, but at least they ain't crooks like your daddy."

"You little." Annie snapped as Katherine smirked, taunted, " Just shootin straight. He screws people over left and right. And you know it. Whole town does. Mayor my ass."

The loud argument attracted the attention of their teacher, Mrs. Thompson who seperated them and squeaked, "Ladies.. We don't behave like this." as Annie smirked and said "Lady. One of us is a lady, and it's not her." while pointing at Katherine who said "Lady my ass." under her breath, giving Annie a dirty look.

"What started this?"

"Her being an ignorant cow." Katherine blurted as Annie gaped and said "I was standing up for Bob. He was the victim in all this, not those damn disgusting Greasers."

"Greaser or not, they're people too, Annie." Katherine pointed out, rolling her eyes, crossing her arms, glaring Annie down firmly.

Down the hall, Cherry Valance snickered a little. She too had been doing her fair share of re - evaluating her life since the night that Bob and Randy pushed too far. It was nice to see that she wasn't the only one. But she hated how the other people in their school seemed to forget that everyone involved in what happened was a victim in some way or another. And she also hated the fact that just because she was now sort of 'with' Dallas Winston, she got things written on her locker in pink or red lipstick on a daily basis.

The red head scowled as she scrubbed at the word "SLUTS BURN IN HELL" before finally giving up and walking closer to the ingoing argument down the hallway. She recognized the girls, she'd seen most of them around town or at the drive in, or at some point or another.

She only recognized Katherine because she'd seen her leaving Pony and Johnny's room the night before with her older brother.

The teacher sighed as she looked from girl to girl and said calmly to Katherine, " Regardless, Ms. Miller, those boys still took a life that night."

"And I'm not excusin that. I'm just saying that something that's an act of defense, ma'am, with all due respect, ain't worth the fuss the whole damn town's makin. If it'd been another Soc, the whole thing woulda died down by now, we all know it." Katherine said as she glared, keeping her arms crossed. The teacher muttered something and then said calmly, "If you two think you can behave in a ladylike manner." before walking away, not comfortable with giving her opinion on the matter. Neither girl had hit the other one, so she couldn't really do anything as a teacher to punish either. Best to let the two of them work this out on their own.

"Obviously, she can't." Annie taunted, as she shot Katherine a look. Katherine rolled her eyes and said " You ain't worryin about me. I got better things to do than stand around here and argue with a freakin brick wall all day." before turning on her heels, walking away from Annie and Lola, with Lola saying aloud, " I really tried with you, Kate. You could have been somebody, you know?"

Katherine stopped, rolling her eyes before spinning around, as she said calmly, "I am somebody. At least I'm not scared to say what I really think. Because let's be honest, Lola.. You said it yaself.. 'Pony's sure dreamy.' and now, here ya are, acting like ya better than everybody. You're not so get over it."

Annie pivoted to look at Lola who gaped at Katherine before flying into denial mode. Katherine rolled her eyes and continued her walk down the hallway. The sooner she got out of this place for the day, the better. They'd already had two almost rumbles in the parking lot, and half their football team was declaring open season on any greaser they happened to see.

She turned a corner and smacked into a senior, a girl named Cherry who managed a smile and said quietly, "They're all idiots. They'll figure that out when they've graduated. It's Katherine, right?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Maybe a certain somebody talked about you earlier." Cherry said with a slight smile as she added, "Pony told me if I saw ya, tell ya hi, and he's still gonna kick your butt at poker tonight."

Katherine smiled and nodding said "Ain't that Winston's jacket?"

"Yeah." Cherry said as she smiled then said "I've been getting it too, so trust me. You're not alone." as the two girls walked out of the school together, talking about how stupid this entire thing was, how everybody made entirely too much of a big deal out of it, as if the Socs were gods in this town.

They stood on the concrete walkway outside the high school and Cherry said casually, "It's nice out. Wanna walk to the hospital with me?"

"Sure. I was goin anyway, I have to help mama. She makes me volunteer, says if I wanna be a nurse, no better time to start learnin about it than now."

"She's right. So you want to be a nurse, huh?"

"Yeah. Or a veterinarian." Katherine admitted as they walked. The honking of a car horn had them stopping, turning. Dallas's car sat idling as he called out, "Get in, both of ya. I'm about to go back, no sense in the two of ya walkin."

"You sure about that, Winston? I'm still real pissed at ya about remindin me I got to shovel horse shit before I left last night." Katherine joked as Dallas grumbled then called out, "Get in, damn it."

Seeing as how it took a long time to really warm to anyone where Dallas was concerned, Katherine figured that if she rode with him and Cherry, it might help him realize she wasn't like the other girls and all she really wanted, when she'd said what she had that first night she went in Pony and Johnny's room was to make sure nothing went unsaid. She had no ill intent, she wasn't planning on acting on her feelings, because quite frankly, the mere thought of it scared her shitless.

When you've never really considered the whole dating thing, as she hadn't, you tended to be a bit awkward with things. So for now, friends would work. At least until someone made a move, or figured something out. She slid down into the backseat and then said "There might be a rumble on Saturday. You girls stay the hell away from the park. That's where it's gonna happen, I think."

Cherry shook her head, gave Dally a pleading look and he looked at her as he said firmly, "It's gonna happen, Cherry. Just because you're my girl doesn't mean I'm gonna turn my back on the gang. You know this already." his mouth set in a firm scowl.

If Johnny died, Dallas wasn't sure how he'd handle it. Looking in the rearview, Dallas said quietly, " It's nice.. Ya comin by." in a stiff voice. He wasn't letting his guard down about the kid, granted, but the two visits seemed to help Pony and Johnny out a little bit, just having somebody other than the gang and Cherry come by, so he was going to give her a chance for now, see what happened.

They pulled into the parking lot of the hospital and Soda ran down, waving his arms, excited grin on his face as he called out, "He did it, Dal. He moved his toe. Then the nurse poked around on his foot, and he felt it. They think he might be able to walk again. I mean he ain't out of the woods yet, Dally, but maybe.."

Dallas nodded quietly and as they got out of the car, he slipped his arm around Cherry and muttered quietly, " About before. I wasn't tryin to be a prick or nothin.. I was just remindin ya.. Those guys up there? They're all the family I got."

Cherry nodded and said quietly, "If it does happen, Dallas, don't you go doing anything stupid, getting killed. You promise me that right now."

"Ain't gonna promise anything, Cherry.. But you seen me fight."

"That's what worries me. I know how wild you get, how out of control you get when you're mad as hell and not thinking straight. Sylvia might not have cared, Dallas, but damn it, I do." Cherry said as Dallas nodded and said "Noted." as they walked down the hallway together.

Katherine peeked into the nurses station and her mama said with a slight smile, "Soda tell ya?"  
"Mhmm.. Are they still sayin he might not make it?" Katherine asked quietly as her mother sighed and said "Now that they know he's not paralyzed, his odds are a little better. But not much. That fire burnt damn near all of his body, Katherine. Since they're still in here, you can go on down, keep 'em company. There's not really much else needs to be done right now."

Katherine nodded quietly and took off down the hallway, and into the hospital room. She raised a brow, but then remembered that Dallas and Cherry walked down to the cafeteria and the gift shop. Flopping down onto a chair, she said with a smile, "Heard ya moved your toes today." as Johnny smiled and then said "Yeah, watch." as Pony lifted the covers up and let Johnny wiggle his toes around.

She nodded and then blurted out in a moment of excitement for him, "Ya get better, Johnny, I might just have to show ya how to dance." immediately going silent and very red faced when she realized just how forward that sounded. She muttered quietly, "I'm sorry, it's just.. That's great. See, those doctors ain't really that smart. I mean ya did it."

Johnny nodded, smiled as he said "Are we gonna play poker or.." his voice coming out raspy but not as raspy as it had been the night before. Maybe some of the smoke was clearing out of his lungs. The doctors still didn't give him much of a chance to live, but he found himself hoping beyond all hope that he did. He really wanted to get to know Pony's friend Katherine better, figure out why of all people, she'd have a crush on him, because she was actually kinda cute.

"I, ermm, yeah.. You gotta teach me how to bluff." Katherine pointed out as she held out the cards to Johnny, because it was his turn to cut the deck, she and Pony had the night before. She stifled a laugh as he tried to mimic the way she cut the deck, but the cards flew everywhere.

"Aww hell, 52 card pick ups okay too." Pony and Katherine joked as they rushed to pick up the cards, laughing. Johnny shrugged and said "If I'm teachin you how to bluff, you gotta teach me how to cut the deck like ya do."

"It's a deal, sir." Katherine said with a smile as she put the deck in his hands. The contact lingered, they again both blushed and Katherine bit her lower lip, coughing as she started to show him how she cut the deck. "It ain't nothin real fancy.. My brother Silas showed me. He's gone a lot now though, he's ridin the rodeo circuit. Probably be back around October if he doesn't start winnin more." Katherine said as Pony asked, "He went for bull ridin, right?"

"Yeah, and he's the worst. Bull throws him on his ass more than he stays on the damn thing." Katherine blurted as she said " Excuse my french, y'all. Mama's always sayin she's gonna make me eat a bar of soap."

Pony snickered as Johnny stifled a laugh, but sort of locked eyes with her for a few seconds as he said "Okay, I'm gonna try to cut the deck again. Ready?"

"Yeah."

"I'm gonna stand over here, Johnnycakes.. So when the cards go everywhere.." Pony teased as he looked at his friends, smiled to himself. It was sort of neat, watching how nervous they got around each other, he liked makin fun of Johnny about it when Katherine wasn't there, and it was just the two of them talkin. He sort of thought that maybe Johnny liked Katherine back, which all in all might not be a bad thing.. If he managed to live through all of this and they didn't wind up in the slam once they were out of the hospital, better.

They started to play, Johnny showed Katherine where she messed up when she tried a bluff. Apparently, she was fidgety liar. "You really do. Every single time you're bluffin about your cards, Kate, I noticed ya move around an awful lot. You gotta be still." Johnny said as he looked at her.

"Like this?" Katherine asked, sitting still, looking at her hand as she smirked and said "King of Diamonds." Which of course, was a bluff and of course, she fidgeted a little, looked down quickly, mostly because if she kept looking into his eyes, she'd get lost in them, wind up staring like an idiot.

She used to do that a lot when they had English class together.

"No, not like that. And ya don't look down either. Look." Johnny said as he patted the edge of the bed he was lying in and said "You gotta look me in the eye and stay real still. Like this. Ace Of Spades."

"Now you're doin it, Johnny." Katherine said as he grumbled a little then muttered something about nerves that she couldn't really make out. "Am not, though."

"Did so. I saw your eye shift."

"Did not."

Pony laughed as he said "Actually, ya do that when ya bluff, Johnnycakes. That's how I beat ya last night."

The card game ended and they started talking about music and school again, Pony asking "Are you gonna go to the Homecoming dance?"

"Do I ever go?" Katherine asked Pony as she blushed, bit her lower lip, ignoring the curious looks she was getting from both of her friends, one of whom she had a crush on.

"I don't see ya.. But I figured ya might." Pony said as he admitted, "I was looking for ya at the last one I dragged Johnny off to. Was gonna let ya meet each other then, apologize about how we didn't talk anymore. I missed being your friend too. You were always kinda like a big sister."

"Yeah, you were always like a little brother too, Pony." Katherine said as she added, "I don't like the dances, cause they never play much Roy Orbison or George Jones."

"Didn't he do a song about moonshine?" Pony asked as Johnny snickered and then raised a brow as Katherine said casually, "White Lightnin. I like that one."

"Why do they call it White Lightnin?" Johnny asked as Katherine shrugged and said "Dunno. My brother drank some one time, said it almost put him on his ass. Guess it's strong or somethin. All I ever had was a beer, so I dunno." while biting her lower lip.

She blushed as the door opened and she realized she was still sitting on the edge of the bed. She moved back to her chair, clearing her throat as the nurse walked in and then said "At least you two have a friend in here today."

Once the nurse left again, the three of them went back to talking about music again, the two of them, Pony and Johnny laughing when Katherine actually tried singing White Lightnin just to sort of let them hear what the song sounded like.

She bit her lip and covered her own ears as she said "Crap, I can't sing. At all." laughing a little. "Wasn't that bad." Pony said as Johnny said "Wasn't bad at all. I mean hearin Dallas trying to sing Elvis is bad."

Katherine snickered as she leaned back in the chair a little, stretching lazily. The three of them went quiet for a little while, but the silence wasn't awkward or anything.

"Thanks for comin by so much." Pony and Johnny said as Katherine waved it off and said "We're friends, I mean now we are." smiling. She bit her lip as her eyes met Johnny's again and a blush crept into her cheeks. He smiled as he nodded and said "Yeah, we are."

Pony smiled and then said "Maybe when we're out, we can show Johnnycakes how to ride a horse." as Katherine nodded and said "We can, yeah.. We can also show him what happens when that Shetland my daddy has gets after ya, Pony.. That horse was always real sweet on you."

"She bit me, Katherine."

"She liked ya, Pony." Katherine said as she stifled a laugh and explained, "My daddy's got this Shetland pony he calls Bessie.. Old Bessie liked to bite Pony on the behind."

"Ha ha ha. At least I haven't been thrown in a pile of horse crap before." Pony joked as he explained to Johnny, "She was racin her brother on horseback, the horse dumped her over in a big steamy pile of horse crap. She got so mad."

Johnny tried not to laugh, but he wound up laughing a little, then coughing and wincing. Katherine winced and asked quietly, "You okay?"

"I'm fine." he rasped as he mentally kicked himself. He winced as a wave of pain hit him and Katherine asked, "Do you need me to get a nurse? You look like you're in pain.."

He shook his head, because the pain came in waves mostly, it came and went. And if he were going to die like the doctors kept telling him he would because of the severity of his burns and the little they could do about them until they healed up a lot more, he wanted to die with dignity, a clear head, not be drugged out of his mind. He wanted to be able to do things like they were doing right now, the three of them talking.

Two Bit came in and tossed a burger at Katherine, gave her a slight grin as he said " Figured I'd be nice. Don't get used to it or nothin." and sat down, taking a bite of his own, after helping Johnny crush the french fries he'd snuck in for him, since Johnny really couldn't eat anything big like a burger because of the smoke damage to his throat currently.

Pony dug into his burger, making both Johnny and Katherine blurt at the same time, both blushing after they did, "Close ya mouth, Pony, nobody wants to see ya food."

Pony muttered through a mouth full, "What? I wasn't smackin."

Two Bit snickered and then said casually, "Gonna make anymore cookies, kid?"

"Maybe." Katherine mused as she said " Thought about makin brownies next time." with a smirk as Two Bit nodded and said with a grin, "Do that." as he asked, "The three of ya play poker tonight?"

"Yeah." Johnny said as he finished the mashed up concoction of french fries and ketchup and smiled as he showed Two Bit that he could move his feet. Two Bit grinned brightly and said "Well hot damn." as he hugged his friend and said "You're gonna be okay, kid. I think so at least."

The door being knocked on got their attention and Katherine's mom poked her head in, wearing her jacket as she said "Ready to go?" before stepping all the way in and smiling as she said "I'm glad to see you two seem to be doin a lot better. Hope Katherine wasn't down here drivin y'all crazy." as she laughed a little and then said to the two of them, "Don't be strangers when ya get out of here, okay?"

Johnny managed a smile, nodded nervously and said quietly, "Yes ma'am" as Pony spoke up and added, " I'm gonna come ride horses with Katherine. We're gonna try and teach Johnny how to ride." as Katherine's mom said with a smile, "Good."

Katherine gave Pony and Johnny the usual friendly hug, and again, the hug lingered between herself and Johnny and she said quietly, "Ya gonna get better. You're a fighter."

Johnny smiled a little and Katherine turned and walked out of the hospital room, biting her lower lip as her mom looked at her, barely hiding a teasing grin. "What, mama?"

"Don't you what me, Kate." as her mom started teasing her about her little 'crush' before ultimately adding, "For Greasers, none of 'em are bad kids. And that little Johnny's sweet."

"Mama!"

"What? He's got manners. That's important." her mom pointed out as Katherine nodded and then said quietly, "It ain't like that though.. I mean we're all just friends."

"Girl, you like him. All that blushing. Like me when I met your daddy. I didn't know what on earth to do with myself around that man. Still don't." her mom said as they walked across the parking lot and got in the car, getting ready to drive home. For most of the drive home, Katherine stared silently out of the passenger window of the car, watching the town disappear and be taken over by miles of farm land, corn fields and farm houses. She smiled to herself a little.

So her little crush was getting bigger. But it didn't mean she'd act on it or anything. She was still really really shy, didn't know how to really do a lot of the things some of her friends, or the girls her brothers bought home all the time did to make a guy like her.

And if he didn't like her for herself, she wasn't gonna change or force it. So for now, friendship worked just fine. She found herself hoping against all hope that somehow, Johnny Cade beat the odds. She didn't want to lose any of her friends, and certainly not one she might have a slight crush on, that would really hurt.


	5. Chapter 5

{**A/N: Again, thanks for the support, my anon reviewer. To anyone else who might read this, I really am doing my best to write an alternate ending that's not like the other and probably better ones. If it's boring and you fall asleep I'm sorry. But hey, the idea's not in my head anymore, right?**

**- Gina**

* * *

She sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes, running her hair through wild and messy hair as she tried to remember why in the hell exactly she'd woken up. She strained against the usual quiet noises of the house, to hear any sound that might be out of place and finally, she heard the sound that must have woken her up, her mom standing at her door, tapping.

Her stomach sank as she realized that it was just after midnight on Wednesday, the day they'd given Johnny the 'death sentence' as far as his injuries, so to speak. Was she coming to tell her that he'd died? She bit her lip for a moment and called out sleepily, "Coming, mama." before slipping out of bed, slipping on the oversized plaid shirt that belonged to her second oldest brother Silas that she used as a robe or slept in sometimes. She opened the bedroom door finally and looked at her mom, trying to gauge what'd prompted her mother to rouse her out of a dead sleep at a little after 11 on a school night of all nights.

Her mom smiled and said " I don't usually do this, Katherine, but I know what the doctors told that boy, and I know Pony's a friend of yours, so I'll let 'em callin this late slide. You don't go getting used to it, you hear?"

"Yes ma'am." Katherine said as she walked down the hallway, rubbing the last of the sleep from her eyes, picking up the one phone in the house, leaning against the soft mint green tiled kitchen walls as she said "Hello?" her voice coming out thick with sleep.

In the background she heard Darry giving Pony a good chewing out for calling so late, and then Pony whispering something, before Darry said "oh.. Well don't keep that kid up too long. She was already here until almost 9 tonight, she does have school tomorrow, Pony." in a firm tone.

Katherine smiled and said "Anybody gonna talk or.." getting her friend's attention as he said with a laugh, "Yeah. Me and Johnny wanted to call ya.. Well, I figured you might wanna know what I overheard the doctor sayin.. And Johnny wanted to say him."

Johnny gave his best friend a slight glare as he took the phone from Pony's hand and said "I, umm, hi. Pony's bein a jackass, he said he was gonna call ya.. I.. I tried to get him not to, cause it's so late."

Katherine bit her lower lip, a hint of a blush creeping into her cheek as she quickly said "It's fine, Johnny, y'all are both my friends.. So, what'd the doctors say?"

"They're givin me til Saturday. They took the damned tube outta my nose.. If I get bad again though.." Johnny warned, not wanting to get either her hopes or his own up. He heard her sigh as she said quietly, "Yeah.. So you're gettin better then, right?" her voice coming out almost as if she were afraid for him. He blushed a little to himself as he said quietly, "They said I am, kinda."

Pony shouted into the phone as he said "Two Bit wanted me to tell ya he wants to see brownies." as she laughed a little and said "Tell 'im they're in the fridge right now." and raked her hands through her hair, the silence awkward yet slightly comforting. She could hear him breathing, she knew he was still hanging in there and her mama hadn't been waking her to tell her she'd just lost a friend tonight.

"Hey Johnny?" she said finally as he asked, "Yeah, Kate?"

" I think ya gonna make it. You're a fighter, I mean hell.. You got all those kids outta that fire. You and Pony and Dallas.. None of ya should be getting the hell ya are right now. It ain't right. And if it matters, I admire the hell outta all three of ya. Just don't tell Winston I said, cause his ego's already so big it barely fits through a door right."

Johnny managed a laugh, wincing as he coughed shortly after, noting the pain wasn't as bad as it had been in previous nights. He stammered quickly, "I,ermm, thanks." as he raked his hand through his jet black hair, noting the way his friends seemed to be staring a hole through him right now. He really didn't talk much for the most part, but Pony, the ass, dialed Katherine's number even after he tried throwing tissues at him from his bed.

He'd missed, of course.

"I don't wanna go to stupid school tomorrow, dang it." Katherine said as Johnny chuckled a little and said " I kinda miss it."

"Shhh.. Don't say such things, Johnny. Anybody hears ya, we might end up goin 8 damn hours a day." Katherine joked, smiling as she heard him laughing a little. She couldn't do much of anything else for him, but she could pray and be his friend, and hope to God that there was enough mercy around and that he made it through this, and out of the hospital.

She'd worry this much if it were Pony in dire straits too, but the fact that she might or might not be redeveloping feelings for Johnny only made seeing him as he was currently that much harder for her. She consoled herself only slightly in the fact that she'd said how she felt about him, that wouldn't go unsaid if something did happen and he did die.

Pony took the phone a few minutes later as he said "So.. I'm sprung from this joint as of tomorrow morning. Darry said I don't have to go to school tomorrow.. What's going on?"

"It ain't pretty, Pony. There's been a fight every day this week and a bunch of the jocks are rallying around the Socs, sayin that if they even see a Greaser, they're gonna jump 'em." Katherine said honestly as she bit her lower lip and then said quietly, "People are so damn stupid. I mean I didn't even realize all this shit went on.. Now that I do, find myself wondering when in the heck the human race got like it is."

Pony shrugged and said quietly, "You tutor people, right?"

"Yeah, why?" Katherine asked as she twisted a strand of hair around her fingertips and Pony said "Well, we're all pulling for Johnny.. If he makes it through the weekend, he's gonna be way behind.. And he's gonna be here mostly alone.. you're not gonna stop seein him.. Right?" Pony asked as Katherine gave a slight laugh and said "No, Pony, you can come with me. we'll go as much as we can until they let him out. Why'd you ask about me tutoring though?"

"Because.. I'm shit in math and history and I was hopin you could catch me up, sis." Pony joked as Katherine gave a laugh then said "Yeah. I don't mind. I'm shit in math too though, so just don't expect straight a's." she admitted as Pony laughed then said "Just wanted to tell ya that they extended how long he had to live.. And let him talk to ya.. I could kinda tell he wanted to."

"Nah, he didn't." Katherine mused as she said "I'm glad ya both called though. I couldn't really sleep, I was kinda worried. I mean that coughin fit he had earlier. Looked like he was in a lot of pain."

"He was." Pony said as Darry called out, "Okay kid, give Johnnycakes the phone and you two say goodnight. You gotta lot of poking and prodding to go through in the morning, and we have to go see a judge."

"Why do you have to see a judge?" Katherine asked in concern as Pony said quietly, "I think that some of the people in town are gonna try to say Darry's not responsible enough to be raisin me and Soda. God I hope not."

"That's horse shit." Katherine blurted as she found herself growing again increasingly annoyed with the so called adults in the town they lived in. She didn't understand why everything was being handled as it was, then again, before all this started, she'd had no idea that such things as the Socials and the Greasers even existed, really.

Pony handed the phone back to Johnny who mouthed, "What the hell am I gonna say?" with Pony only offering a shrug and a coy grin as he flopped back into his own bed. Johnny said quietly, "I'm gonna let ya go to sleep.. Are ya gonna get to come by again?" he asked hopefully as Katherine smiled and said "Yeah, I actually talked to Cherry and Marcia, they said they'd bring me tomorrow on the count of Marcia's getting real worried about Pony.. Don't tell him, but I think she's sweet on him."

Johnny laughed a little and then said quietly, "Night, Kate." as Katherine said "Night Johnny. Just remember. You're gonna make it. You gotta make it."

He hung up and Katherine hung up as well, standing in the kitchen, thinking about things as they stood currently. Biting her lower lip she scowled at herself as she went back over every second of their conversation. She was so damn awkward sometimes, she really amazed herself. Her mom's throat clearing had her jumping, her hand on her heart as her mom asked quietly, "Well? What'd he say, Katherine?"

"They gave Johnny til the weekend. Took the tubes out of his nose so he can try and breathe on his own, get used to it again.. That's a good sign, right?" she asked her mother hopefully as her mom smiled and gave a slight nod adding, "All anybody can do now, girl, is pray. I just hope those damn idiots in town don't stir things up, get Soda and Pony taken from Darry. When you go down with those two girls tomorrow, Katherine, you tell Darry if he needs witnesses, I'll go down and tell what I've seen. None of this is right. I mean they took a life, but it don't excuse nothing that's happened since. " her mom said as she hugged her and said quietly, with a smile, "Maybe now you'll go to sleep, huh?"

"How'd you know I wasn't sleepin?"

"Heard you getting up and down. You take after your daddy like that girl, something worries you, you walk the floor."

Katherine nodded and set off for bed, settling in again, saying one last prayer just hoping that someone up there was listening and all of this would be over, every last bit of it, soon.

She just wanted things to go back to maybe a slightly improved shade of normal in all honesty.


End file.
